This article is about Danes as an ethnic group. For information about residents or nationals of Denmark, see demographics of Denmark. For other uses, see Dane.

The term Dane may refer to:

• People with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity, whether living in Denmark, emigrants, or the descendants of emigrants.
• Members of the Danish ethnic minority in Southern Schleswig, a former Danish province.
• Anyone whose mother tongue is Danish.
• Nationals or citizens of Denmark, which also includes a German minority in South Jutland as well as recent non-European immigrants and their descendants (see: Demographics of Denmark).

This article refers to the two definitions, ethnic Danes and their descendants plus the minority in Germany.

Danes in Denmark

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Almost five million ethnic Danes live in Denmark today. The Danes are a Scandinavian ethnic group, and are the descendants of the Norse - better known as Vikings - along with Norwegians, Swedes, Icelanders, Faroese, and to some extent , the English, due to the settlement of many Danes, along with the Anglo-Saxons in England during the Migration period and during the Danelaw period. The average Dane enjoys a comfortable standard of living.

A minority of approx. 50,000 Danes live in Southern Schleswig in Germany, a former Danish territory, forming around 10% of the local population. In Denmark, the latter group is often referred to as De danske syd for grænsen (literally: the Danes south of the (Danish-German) border) or sydslesvigere (South Schleswigers).

The Danish Nation in a political context

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Det danske folk (The Danish nation) as a concept, played an important role in 19th century ethnic nationalism and refers to self-identification rather than a legal status. Use of the term is most often restricted to a historical context; the historic German-Danish struggle regarding the status of the Duchy of Schleswig vis-à-vis a Danish nation-state. It describes people of Danish nationality, both in Denmark and elsewhere. Most importantly, ethnic Danes in both Denmark proper and the former Danish Duchy of Schleswig. Excluded from this definition are people from the formerly Norwegian Faroe Islands and Greenland as well as members of the German minority as well as members of other ethnic minorities.

The term should not be confused with the legal concept of nationality, Danske statsborgere (Danish nationals) i.e. individuals holding Danish citizenship.

See also

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• List of Danes
• Danish Americans

References

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Danish people | Ethnic groups in Europe | Germanic peoples

Danci | Det danske folk | Dänen | Danci | Dāņi | Danai | デーン人 | Duńczycy | Daner